Our Love
by pineappurus
Summary: It all starts with them only loving each other in secret. It continues with a promise. Will their love story end happily? Is their love strong enough to conquer it all? Can they make things work? There is hurt, there is coping, and then there is closure. This is the story of their love. Mitsu. A little YuiAzu and MugiSawako.
1. Our Love

**AN**: My third Mitsu fic but the second I'll be uploading. There will be a sequel to this but it's still in the works. Don't worry, I won't abandon this! Again, I'm not familiar with Japanese customs, so if there are any mistakes, my thanks to whoever would kindly point it out!

**Disclaimer**: I do not own K-ON! nor any of its characters. Kakifly does. The lucky ba****d.

**Title**: Our Love  
**Word** Count: 2,914 words  
**Pairing**: Ritsu x Mio; Mio x Ritsu  
**POV**: Second person, Ritsu-centric  
**Summary**: How long can you love your best friend in secret? Mio and Ritsu go out on an impomptu date. Ritsu has bee thinking of confessing to Mio. Mio also has something important to tell her best friend.

* * *

**Our Love**

It was the summer vacation of your third year. You were watching videos of live concerts of various bands on the internet, picking out those that especially focus on the drummer the most. Your feet tap along to the beat and soon you have your sticks in your hands and you're hitting books of various thickness that you were supposed to be studying. You were rushing as usual, but you knew that no one could match the intensity of your playing and the power of each beat you created. You were confident in your music, because that was how you are, that was who YOU are.

You didn't even hear the loud banging on your door until your little brother burst into your room and yelled from the top of his lungs so that his voice would break through the intense haze only drumming brings over you.

"ONEE-CHAAN, KEEP IT DOWN!" You were startled and you stop in the middle of an eight beat measure and look back to where your brother stood at the doorway and shot him an apologetic look.

"Gomen, Satoshi." You scratch the back of your head, sweatdropping comically. Your brother just sighed and closed the door probably going back to a videogame he was playing or a comic book he was reading in his room.

You felt the tie holding up your long bangs came loose and pulled it out of your hair. You combed through your bangs with your fingers then proceeded to tie it up again. While holding it up, you saw your phone's screen light up and heard the faint buzzing sound it makes when it vibrates indicating that you just received a text message. You quickly finished fixing your hair and picked up the mobile, checking the sender ID. It read 'Dangerous Queen'. It was from Mio. Akiyama Mio, your childhood friend and best friend, the reason why you never spent a day without a bump on your head, your academic savior, the moe-filled, raven-haired, gray-eyed beauty that inspired you and motivated you to keep on playing your music because you know you'd be playing with her; the only person you've ever had feelings for.

You moved your thumb to hover over the 'open' button.

You felt your heart thump faster and louder each time against your ribcage until it felt like it wanted to burst out of the confines of your chest. You inhaled through your nose and let it out audibly through your mouth. You did this for a few more times until you've calmed your rebelling heart.

You pressed it. The message loaded on the screen.

**'Ritsu, are you free tomorrow?'**

You blushed, imagination slipping from your grasp and running freely with thoughts about how she probably wants to hang out with you tomorrow. You grinned at the message, if only you could convey the happiness you felt through the electronic device to her.

You pressed reply and typed out a quick message.

_'Yeah. Wanna hang out?_'

You pressed send and less than half a minute later, before you could even do a mental victory dance because you were going out on a date tomorrow, your phone buzzed again.

**'Yeah. Will 3pm be alright? I know that you've been sleeping in until noon since summer started and it's so hot outside that going out for lunch isn't even a possibility.'**

Before you typed a quick reply, you 'hmmed' and thought about how sudden this was.

'_Heh. You know me too well, Mio-sama! Why the sudden invitation, though? I thought you've been having advanced summer reviews for preparation for the Uni?'_

**'I'm skipping tomorrow. I can study at home, anyway. So, I'll pick you up at your house tomorrow. See you then! Oyasumi.'**

You found it so out of character for Mio to skip tomorrow even if she already knew the lesson. Well, she probably realized how boring studying is and decided to do things your way, carefree and just swinging it. You snicker. You doubt it. You just tell yourself that you'll find out what all of this is about soon enough.

You also bade her good night through text before shutting down your laptop and plopping down on your bed. You made sure to set your alarm just in case you oversleep and wake up to your Dangerous Queen's wrath in the form of a fist coming down upon your head.

Heh, your Dangerous Queen, huh? You smile widely to yourself. You know that from the moment you did that stunt where you tied your hair up to look like a pineapple that a part of her became yours. You also know that through the years you've spent growing up together that she has become dependent on you and you on her. You fit perfectly after all. Your weaknesses and her strengths, your strengths and her weaknesses, yet you both still meet at a point where you're both able to understand each other so well that sometimes you have no need for words.

You were then struck by the gravity of your feelings for her. You realize then that you love her. You love her with all of your heart. You know that you'll love her for the rest of your life.

This realization made your heart ache and overwhelmed you with warmth and happiness at the same time. Your eyelids started to feel heavier every passing moment.

When you finally fell asleep, you fell asleep to thoughts of a distant future, your most treasured hopes and dreams; you would even say that they're sacred and pure, only meant to be seen by your mind's eye.

In your thoughts, there was you and her, both of you were older, your heads crowned by soft white wisps of hair, faces softened by wrinkles and age, hands clasped together. An image showing that the both of you shared the rest of your years together and overcame obstacles and hardships with the help and support and love of the other, both of you never let go until your last breaths.

You slept and you slept peacefully and well with a contented smile adorning your childlike face.

* * *

You cursed under your breath as you woke up thirty minutes late. You jumped out of bed and thought about how you've become a lot like Yui recently. You think that you shouldn't let the girl influence you too much since you don't have someone like Ui who would be willing to take care of you unconditionally. Mio would only go so far. She would definitely find a way to force you to do things on your own in the end, being the dangerous queen that she is.

You took a quick shower and put on the clothes you first saw when you opened your drawer, gray knee-length pants, a red undershirt and a white polo to put over it.

Your phone vibrated in your pocket and the doorbell rang not long after and you knew that Mio was already downstairs waiting for you. You opened your windows and surely, there at your doorstep is your beloved.

"I'll be down in a minute!" You called out to her from the second floor. She raised her head at you and quickly covered her eyes after feeling the suns angry glare.

"Hurry! It's hot here!" She called out back at you. You practically leapt down the whole flight of stairs and thought about how you couldn't get down fast enough. You slipped on your worn out black converse and burst right out of the door. You almost stumbled right into her.

"Here… I… Am… Ready to… Go?" You panted and breathed heavily between words. You leaned forward, hands supporting you on each knee until you were able to steady your breathing.

"Oi, Ritsu. You didn't have to run through the house." You heard her rummage through her shoulder bag after lecturing you as always, then you felt something soft on your forehead down to the right side of your face. You smelled her familiar scent and you realized that she was wiping your face with her towel. Your body froze and your face turned into a tomato and your heart felt like it was trying to get out of your chest again.

After Mio wiped the sweat off your face, you found that you were still unable to move. It wasn't until she poked your nose that you came out of your trance and stood straight and looked at her. Of course, she was beautiful as always.

"Are we going to stay here, all day? I didn't skip classes just to stand outside your house, you know." She quipped good-naturedly and smiled at you and you grin like your usual self and nod.

The two of you started to walk side by side as always.

"So, where do you want to go?" You turned to her, put you arms behind your head in the way she would say only you can do and gave her another one of your trademark grins.

"Hmm…" She looked up in quiet thought for a moment. Then, her eyes shifted to yours and she turned to face you. "I heard from a certain ojou-sama that you are quite good with coming up with the cheapest and most fun things to do on a date. Maybe I should leave that decision to you."

You almost froze again in your spot when you heard her say _date. Almost._ Your feet kept you up with her pace, though. Your eyes sparkled and you nodded vigorously. You grinned once again and gave her a thumb up. You saw her blush at your childlike antics. Your heart fluttered.

"Well, then! I know exactly where to go!"

* * *

It was already dark when you two exit the music store, your last destination. You both laughed and she had tears in the corner of her eye. You heart was soaring by this time. Seeing her laugh so freely, so gleefully, like she had not a single worry in the world, but knowing that you could make her feel this way... _Ahh, _it is all so much for your dear heart to handle.

You both started on your way home. She walked with a soft dreamy smile on her face and you with your never disappearing grin. But then, she suddenly stopped, a frown tainting her beautiful face with sorrow that your heart went from weightless and floating to heavy and falling; it felt like it dropped to your stomach.

"M-mio?" You had not noticed that your hand moved by instinct and its instinct dictating you to hold her hand tightly and pull her to face you. She looked up at you, into your eyes and you asked, "what's wrong?"

"Ritsu… The reason why I suddenly asked you to hang out with me today is…" She averted her gaze, opting to stare at the ground instead. "I-I… Have something I need to tell you."

Your heart was once again beating wildly, this time not with happiness and excitement, but with dread; liquid mercury dread that's slowly poisoned you and burned at your insides.

"My dad… He lost his job, two weeks before summer started." Your eyes widened and you gasped loudly, because of both surprise and hurt that she told you of this only now.

"I lied about having summer classes. I was actually looking for work. I didn't want to tell you because I didn't want you to worry. I thought it was only temporary and I was right! He just got a job, yesterday."

You knew that there was more she wasn't saying and you patiently waited for her to go on.

"But the job he got is overseas. He wants us to move with him since we're only a family of three. He says I can go to a university there and it would be cheaper than going to Japan Women's." Tears welled up in your eyes. She was already sobbing.

"Ri-ritsu… I don't want to… But I have to… There was nothing I could do! I begged and I pleaded. But—." Then you pulled her to you and wrapped your arms around her protectively, despite the small difference in height. Mio felt like she was trying to curl up into a ball so she could soak up all of the warmth and comfort that you offered. You held her, giving her all that you had. You knew. You knew then, that she felt the same about you and that she wanted to have this day to treasure. You would definitely treasure today also.

You moved and held her face and wiped her tears away.

"My, my…" You tried to give her a soft smile through your tears. "You're still such a crybaby, aren't you?"

You felt her hands clench at you shirt as she pressed herself to you even more.

"It's because I'll miss you and your stupidity… I wouldn't find another baka like you there." You heard her whisper.

"Mio, you'll always have me." There was a pause.

"I know."

"Mio…" You waited for her to look up at you. When she did you stared so lovingly into her eyes and made sure that she would hear and remember the next words you say.

"I love you."

She cried out and sobbed harder and you hugged her to you tighter. You momentarily regretted confessing to her, you knew you just made things harder for the both of you. Then you thought that it would have been better than having not told her at all and having to keep it all bottled inside of you.

"I love you too, you idiot. Now it's so much harder for me to leave."

"I know. I'm sorry. I had to tell you, though."

"I know. It's okay. I'm glad you did."

You held her until she calmed down enough so that you could bring her home. You called your parents and told them that you would be sleeping over at Mio's house for the night and they happily permitted you to. She looked at you with mild surprise and then gave you a small but thankful smile.

That night, you slept in each other's arms. Your breaths mingled and the beating of your hearts synchronized. For now, you were together. And it was now that mattered to you the most. You savored each moment.

* * *

You had a week before she left. You made the most out of it all. Spending as much time as you could with her, whether you two went out or just watched movies in your houses. You teased her as much as you can and she would blush and hit you like nothing has changed between the two of you. At night, you held each other and whispered promises of love while tangled in sheets or while in the throes of passion. You made love to each other like every single time would be your last. You memorized every little detail about each other's bodies. You were so happy. You constantly wished that time would stop and the two of you can stay in your little paradise.

But the day of her departure came all too soon. She valiantly tried to hold her tears back as you hugged goodbye. She promised to email and IM with you every day, and promised to text whenever she could. You promised that no matter how many bands you play with, she will forever be your bassist. She giggled at that and pinched your cheek. You stuck your tongue out at her. And then her face held a tinge of sorrow and you just wanted to do everything you could to make her sadness go away.

"Mio." You clasped both of her hands in yours. "We will be together. We can make it work long-distance. I will do everything I can to make you happy."

"Ritsu…"

"I know what you're going to say, but Mio, I swear we'll make it work. I know it. When I finish my studies here at the Uni, I'm moving out of Japan and we'll be together. Until then, we just have to put up with the distance and fight on. Mio, we can do it! I know we can. I trust our love to survive this. Our love is strong enough to survive this, right?"

She pulled you in for a long passionate kiss right in the middle of the airport. Both your parents gasp but you found yourselves not caring about them.

"I love you." Mio said breathlessly as she pulled from your kiss. "We will survive this."

You thought your heart grew wings and flew right out of your chest at that moment. You hugged her so tight and she hugged you back just as tight. You both heard the last call for her flight and she had to board the plane. She picked up her bags and waved at you then ran to her parents. You waved back at her and stood there minutes until after the plane has already left.

You turned around and you saw you mother, father and brother approach you. They enveloped you in one of the warmest and most comforting hugs you've ever experienced in your life. Your mother started to stroke your hair and you couldn't hold it all in anymore so you cried and cried until there were no more tears for you.

**** The end for now ****

* * *

**AN**: What do you guys think? I'd love to hear them all! Reviews, comments, questions, and criticisms are most welcome! Thank you for reading! More to come. :)

_**~pineappurus**_


	2. Your Happiness

**AN**: So, the story was supposed to end in this chapter but it ended up longer than I thought so I'm adding an epilogue. I'll put it up, soon, mkay? Anyway, a big thank you to everyone who took the time to review my stories! All my love to you guys~

A little trivia, the first chapter was inspired by my best friend since he just told me that he's moving away and we're probably not gonna get to see each other as often as we'd like. This one, though, the second chapter was inspired by personal experiences. I had a girlfriend for almost four years and it was a long distance thing. We live in the same country, though, just 30 minutes away from each other :P

**Chapter Title**: Your Happiness  
**Chapter Word Count**: 3,636 words  
**Pairing(s)**: Ritsu x Mio; Mentions of Yui x Azusa and Mugi x Sawako  
**POV**: Still second person, Ritsu-centric  
**Chapter Summary**: Ritsu and Mio do everything they can to make it work. But will it? They have their first fight and more!

* * *

**Your Happiness**

* * *

You hear your phone blast a message alert tone you assigned specifically for someone. You made sure to have it at the loudest level possible so that you would hear her messages and would be able to reply right away.

You make a mad dash out of the bathroom, the blue tie hanging loosely around your neck slips and due to your fast reflexes honed by hours and hours of drum practice, you catch it by one of its ends at the last second before it touches the ground. Your arms flail around and you almost lose balance but quickly catch yourself. You run to the dining table checking if you left your phone there while you had your breakfast. No sign of it there. The alert tone is slowly dying down and you run to follow where the sound was coming from. You take the steps leading to your bedroom three at a time, the most your not-so-long legs would allow. You refuse to call yourself short. You're just not that tall, is all.

You burst into your room, passing by your mirror that reflected your now-creased blouse and your lack of socks. Your subconscious notes that you still have your toothbrush stuck in your mouth with the white suds of your toothpaste around it.

You grab your phone that was on your bed.

**1 Message Received: Dangerous Queen *heart***.

You feel your heart thumping against your ribcage like a rabid prisoner again. You thought about changing Mio's name in your contacts list since the two of you decided to make things official, but you really couldn't find it in yourself to do so. So you just added a heart at the end. If there was anyone who could reduce the great Ritsu-sama to a pile of mush it would be her.

You open the message to read its contents.

_'It's probably morning there in Japan right now, huh? I hope you're having a good one. We've finally settled in our new apartment. It's smaller than the one we had there. The building is a more cramped also. Today's the first day of the second term, right? Do your best for me, okay? I want to hear all about today when you get home. Send me an e-mail, alright? I'll read it whenever I can. I'm sorry I haven't been able to IM with you as much; we've been arranging my papers so that I can start college here soon. The education system here is different! I don't need to take up the second term for our senior year. I can just move on to college now since my grades are high enough and I have taken the basic subjects. I still have to take up their history and their language and literature subjects, though, but I'm sure I'll be fine. Say hi to the others for me? See you on our next webcam session! Oh, maybe the others can join in too next time._

_PS. I miss you so much, Ritsu. You're all I've been thinking about. - Mio'_

You are not sure about what you feel. Your heart is overflowing with emotion, anyway. You type out a quick reply. You know that the rates for texting overseas are expensive but you're willing to skip buying lunch at school just so you can keep sending her messages, so you can make her feel that you're still there working hard to keep your promise.

You feel lucky because only an hour of time difference separates the two of you, four hours of flight and 1,860 miles.

You tell her mundane and random things. You take your time to type out your words. You want to send her something she can read if she's feeling lonely that would automatically bring a smile to her beautiful face. You tell her that you miss her just as much and that she is all that has been on your mind as well. Then you do something so out of character.

You add 'I love you so much' at the end of your message.

You send it and pocket your phone, knowing that Mio won't be replying any time soon. She can only text you once a day, she can't spend so much money after all. You know you'll be chatting online soon, once she's settled everything there, so you finish preparing for school.

You leave 15 minutes earlier today than the usual time you leave home. You take your time walking and start to notice things you've deemed insignificant and undeserving of your attention because your best friend was walking beside you. You notice the other students of different year levels, you notice the trees, you notice the sky, you notice the clouds, and even the little cracks on the road. You also don't fail to notice that this is practically the first time you're walking to school alone. You bow your head and wave off those unwanted thoughts.

"Oh, Commander Ricchan! Ohayoo~"

"Ricchan, ohayo~."

"Ohayo, Ritsu-senpai."

You hear the childish voice of the airheaded ball of happiness that is Yui and see her do a salute followed by the gentle and elegant voice of Mugi and the polite Azusa.

"Ohayo, minna!" You give them all a huge grin and a peace sign as they all walk towards you. You turn to Yui and give her a salute in return.

You are already at the entrance to the campus and you decide to wait for them to cross the street so that you could all go in together. You thank God for giving them to you because they made coping with Mio's absence easier. They have offered to accompany you on the days where they had nothing to do. Yui even let you come over whenever you felt like and her sister Ui would bake delicious cakes and make sweets. You bumped into Mugi once and went out with her regularly since then. Azusa would text you to meet at Max Burgers once in a while.

Then you think of how hard it must be for Mio to not have anyone but her parents, to be pushed into a new life, a new country with unfamiliar customs. Your heart aches for the girl you love.

You inhale as much air as you can and expel it slowly. Now is not the time to be depressed. _Mio's doing her best for you, now you must do your best for her!_

You band mates and friends reach you and they offer warm supportive smiles. You pump your arm up in the air in true Ritsu fashion.

"YOSH! Minna, let's goo!"

You march into school with your head held high, chest out, surrounded by the people you hold dear, people you know who are willing to help you in whatever way they can.

* * *

You weren't disappointed when two weeks later, you and Mio get to IM regularly. You talk about your days. You talk about Keion and school and Mio talks about her parents and all that's new in her life. You are glad when Mio tells you about this 8 year old girl she's neighbors with. Apparently, that girl is almost like an 8 year old Mio and you know your best friend enjoys acting like an older sister and taking care of someone. You're also glad that she's found things she could do to keep her busy.

This goes on for months. You don't know. You don't count. You guys opted to not count in months but rather in years. You both truly believe that you would last for forever.

Whenever it gets late, you would always move on to more intimate topics. You both talk about your feelings and thoughts and dreams. You never forget to tell how beautiful she is and how she will always be perfect in your eyes. Mio would blush in reply and tell you that there can never be anyone like you or anyone that can come close, so she's so happy that she was the lucky person to have you. You tell her that you're the lucky one here because how often does one find a person who thinks of them in that way? How often does one find someone who accepts them and loves them for all that they are, for all that they choose to be?

You wish each other good night and sweet dreams. You sleep with smiles on your faces, to thoughts of a future together, to dreams of a life spent in each other's embrace.

But like all good things, this also comes to an end.

Things get monotonous. Things done out of want and pleasure of doing it are done for the sake of routine. Things get tense and strained, both of you scared of voicing out your concerns, fearing that if you do, you might ruin the already fragile relationship. You hear your love's clipped tone instead of the gentle and warm one she used to use whenever you video call.

On your first year anniversary you couldn't take it anymore. You tell her. She tells you about what she feels. Somewhere in between, there is a miscommunication. Things quickly deviate from the plan. Things go from good to bad in an instant. You're both yelling at each other.

Just when you were in the middle of your rant she decides that she's had enough and goes offline.

It was your first official fight and you feel like hanging yourself for being stupid. You don't cry but you don't have the energy to do anything also. You can't eat. You're not sure if you were still together. There was no communication for three days.

On the third day she goes online. It was midnight for you so it was already one in the morning for her. You've been waiting for her to come on, for that little empty dot beside her name to go green telling you that she is there and ready to talk. You waste no time in video calling her. You see her in her pajamas, face red and eyes puffy from crying. You feel your throat tighten and tears threaten to spill from the corners of your eyes. Both of you just stare at each other until Mio opens her mouth and says your name.

"R-ritsu…?"

Tears slide down your cheeks and you cry unabashedly in front of her. You waste no time in telling her that the past three days have been the worst and that you regret everything that you said. You apologize for yelling and you tell her that you can't stand not talking to her for a day.

Then you tell her that you love her so much. You tell her that you would do anything for her. You tell her that you can't let go of her. You tell her that you would change and do whatever she wants as long as she stays. You start to ramble and she cuts you off.

"Baka. I don't want that. Ritsu, I love you for who you are. We're a couple now and fighting is normal and healthy, okay?" She gives you a small but warm smile and your heart pounds again. The lyrics of Fuwa Fuwa Time briefly cross your mind.

Then you do something rare, something that's almost out of character for you. You smile warmly back at her instead of your usual toothy grin.

You both talk for a while. You start cracking jokes in no time and she's laughing melodically into her microphone and it flows beautifully from your speakers.

That night you both feel like your dream of spending the rest of your lives together is within reach.

* * *

You have more fights but you make sure to make up a few hours later. You make it through. You visit her once after begging for your parents to loan you enough money and Mio visits you a year after that when she saved up enough money for a plane ticket.

You hold each other's hand every chance you get. You kiss whenever no one is looking. You make love all night. You schedule meet ups with Yui, Azusa, Mugi and even Sawa-chan. You're both pleasantly surprised to find out that Yui and Azusa are a couple and so are Mugi and Sawako. You jokingly tell Mugi that she and Sawa-chan should make the most out of the time they have left since Sawa-chan isn't getting any younger. You get two bumps on your head for that, one from Mio and the other from Sawako.

You hug her tightly when the time to say goodbye came. You both try to make it as quick as you can to save you both from the pain. You kiss just like the first time and she leaves waving at you.

You both do your best to make things work. You do everything in your power to make her happy. She does everything for you also in return. You both fall even more in love as time passed.

But so many things get in the way, so many reasons, each one making each struggle harder than the last. Time gets in the way. Jobs get in the way. Studies get in the way. Priorities get in the way. Life gets in the way and creates a permanent chasm between the two of you.

You lay limply in your bed. You just finished an overseas call that would most probably burn through a wad of your cash later. You can't find it in you to think about money at the moment, though, because you and Mio just broke up.

Broke up… After almost four years of struggling to make it through, almost four years of fighting the odds— the happiest and hardest almost four years of your entire life.

You both actually decided to end it, agreeing that your dreams were too far from reality, agreeing that if you two really were meant to be, then one day you would be, one day the cosmos will conspire in your favor and bring you two together.

As you lie there on your side, staring at the wall you think of how if you were your 17 year old self you would be telling 21 year old Mio and 21 year old Ritsu how stupid they are for giving up and how you can make things happen as long as you believe you can, but that Ritsu was _young_ and _too idealistic_ and _naïve_. She didn't know how hard it is to constantly carry the ache of not having the person you love most by your side, of not knowing when they would be together and how. She had no idea how hard it was to see Yui hugging Azusa and Sawa-chan and Mugi hold each other's gazes while she just has her computer screen with a live feed from her girlfriend's webcam who is miles away from her.

There were no bitter and cruel words exchanged between the two of you. You're glad for that. You both agreed that you should try going back to being best friends because you worked best that way. You knew that she really meant it works easier that way.

The world rotates on its axis and the sun rises and sets. The days pass by and you just drift through them. Mugi leaves voice messages three times a day to check if you've eaten meals properly. Yui drops by every day to bring you cake and whatever new sweets she discovered. Azusa leaves you text messages about random things. You appreciate your friends' efforts and try to put on your best grin for them but they can still so easily see through your façade.

A week after the break up, you call Sawa-chan. You invite her to a bar and she accepts. She picks you up with her car. You lose count of how many shots of vodka you've had. You notice Sawa-chan's only had three but you don't say anything. You remember that she has to drive you back home. She probably noticed how fast you went through shot glass after shot glass so she decided to take it easy. You don't even know how you got home. You were knocked out cold from all the alcohol you took.

You wake up to the feeling of something trying to crush your skull. You're badly hung over. You try to get up but only manage on all fours so you crawl to your kitchen to get a glass of water. After getting on your feet and gulping down two glasses to alleviate the dryness you feel in your throat, you see a note on the table. It was in Mugi's penmanship. You still recognize it after all these years.

'_There is Tylenol in the bedside drawer. Sawako called me last night. We made you breakfast already. It's in a container in the fridge. Heat it up and finish it all, okay? – Mugi_'

Mugi's such a great friend isn't she? Scratch that, all of your friends are great. You're just the only one who's being insensitive right now by being a burden to them. You swear that you'll stop troubling your friends now.

Weeks pass by in a blur. Before you know it, it's been months. Once in a while you get an email from Mio updating you about her life. Once in a while you find the motivation in yourself to tell her about what's been happening in your life and what the others have been up to.

Years pass and the relationship between the two of you is still far from how it was back when you were younger. You sigh and mourn for the loss. It left a gaping hole in your heart that cannot be filled in by anything else in this world.

* * *

One day, in your early thirties, you receive an email from Mio. There was no long narration about the recent events that unfolded in her life or little random anecdotes that she just felt like sharing with you. No, this was not like all the other emails she sent you.

In this one was an invitation, a wedding invitation, but it wasn't your name beside hers.

You feel your heart break once more, your already fragile heart that's only recently started to recover, undoing all of the progress you've made in trying to fix yourself.

Your phone rings and you look at the caller ID. It was Mugi. You answer and you hear her concern-filled voice ask you if you've checked your email recently. You tell her you have and that you've seen the invitation. Mugi asks how you're doing and you don't answer.

"Ricchan?" her worried voice floats through your phone's speaker once more.

"Mugi, can you come by right now?" you say lifelessly.

"Of course! I'll be there in a few minutes." She hangs up immediately and you place your phone beside you and wait for the familiar revving of the engine of her expensive car.

She got there faster than the fastest possible time. You wonder how many traffic rules your gentle friend broke just to get to you. She doesn't bother to knock and just opens your front door. You sat at the floor facing her, waiting for her there. She sees you and you realize how pathetic you probably look.

Mugi doesn't say anything, being the great friend that she is. She just gets on her knees and envelops you in such a warm hug that your heart would've broken had it not been already. You curl yourself up into a ball and let your tears flow freely. You let yourself be comforted by your friend.

Minutes later everyone else arrive one by one. You assume that Mugi informed them or they also received the invitation via email. They all crowd around you and comfort you. You let them.

You were in so much pain that there was nothing you can do but to just let them.

* * *

You flew together with everyone. This was the first time you would see Mio again after the break up. It pains you that you would be seeing her in a long white wedding gown but you're not the one she's marrying. You endure it all, though, because despite everything, Mio will always be your best friend and she will always have that special place in your heart.

You averted your eyes. You couldn't look at the happy newlywed couple. The palpable happiness radiating from them is already making you sick to your stomach. Seeing their smiles as they say 'I do' would just push you over the edge.

The wedding ceremony is over just as soon as it's started.

You catch Mio's gaze during the reception. She was even more beautiful than ever, the years refining her like a stone that hardened into a priceless and beautiful diamond. You realize that she's probably a different person now. You then realize that you are a different person. You smile at her and she smiles warmly back at you and there is that fluttering in your chest again like something there has come alive. You realize that it's your heart and it's you coming to terms with not getting to spend the rest of your life with her after all these years.

Ironically, the day that your first and only love marries someone else, is the first day you were truly happy after such a long time.

You hold each other's gaze and smile at each other for a while. And as you do, you whisper in your head, '_You will always be the only one I love, Mio… And I am happy that you are happy, even if I can't be the source of your happiness_.'

* * *

****The End For Now****

* * *

**AN**: So, what do you think? Reviews are welcome! Sorry I had to end things this way, but don't worry! There is more to come. :) I decided that using present tense and present progressive makes things a lot easier for me and helps me write smoothly. So I guess I'm sticking with that xD 'til the next update, everyone!

**_~pineappurus_**


	3. My Dream

**AN**: So here's the end of my story. I would have made the three chapters into separate one shots but then I thought this was better so that people can follow the story better. I hope I was right xD Anyway I have things I need to explain... Things progress quickly because I make time jumps in my stories so that I wouldn't drone on and on about their everyday happenings and I wouldn't bore you to death. I'm sorry if it's confusing to some. Also, Mio's not the bad guy here, okay? You know how life is. Things just happen and sometimes you have to make hard decisions. Ritsu understands. So yeah, I think I've had too much drama so I might write something more fluffy and funny next time.

**Warning**: Huge time jump later on.

**Chapter Title**: My Dreams  
**Chapter Word Count**: 2,715 words  
**POV**: Second person, still Ritsu-centric  
**Pairing(s)**: Ritsu x Mio, Yui x Azusa, Mugi x Sawako  
**Summary**: Ritsu has accepted that her dreams might never come true, but that doesn't mean it hurts any less. There is hurt, there is coping, and then there is closure. Is it happy? Is it tragic? See the story of their love end.

* * *

**My Dreams**

* * *

The time for your stay eventually comes to an end. You all had two days after the wedding to explore the tourists' destinations in the foreign city you were in. In those two days, you spent your waking hours along with everyone, and the afternoons you all shared with Mio. It seems that she's postponed her honeymoon to show everyone her gratitude for coming all the way just for her wedding. Yui tells her that of course you guys came; it was Mio-chan's most important day, after all!

But everyone needed to go back to Japan as soon as possible and it's not like you can stay here without them, so you go along and return with them.

Your flight is scheduled around 4:00 am tomorrow and you've already packed and bought all the souvenirs you originally planned to buy. Everyone else was busy packing their stuff and probably busy with other things only couples do. There's still 12 hours before the flight and you know you wouldn't be able to sleep so you decide to walk around your hotel, maybe get a drink or two if he bar's already open and if not, then you guess you're just going to check out what sweets they have in the restaurants at the ground floor. Yui kept bugging you to try them all yesterday.

The elevator was taking so long for some reason. You stand there for almost five minutes and then you throw your arms out in exasperation. Sure, you had all the time today but that doesn't make someone like you a patient person, does it? So you take the stairs, since you weren't so high up anyway. You guys couldn't afford the deluxe and special rooms at the top floors.

You trudge the staircases one by one, slowly descending; there was the fourth floor, now the third, followed by the second while you had a beat in your head and you're slightly bouncing to it you reach the ground floor.

There are so many people of different races. There are Asians like you, most of them looking Korean; you spot some Chinese and then a few Japanese like you. There are also Caucasians, you don't really know how to identify them specifically by their physical appearance so as racist as it might sound, you all put them under the category 'White'. You do the same with the dark-skinned people you see.

You walk to cross the lobby going to the receptionist to ask about directions to the nearest café or cake shop.

"Ritsu."

The receptionists' desk was only a few feet away now but you completely forget the whole point of you going there because you hear her voice; her voice, calling your name once again, after all these years…

You freeze in your spot for a few seconds as if in a daze and you suddenly snap out of it when you feel her hand graze your shoulder. But before she can fully place her hand, you turn quickly to face her and she probably realizes that you don't want to feel her skin against yours so she retracts her hand and holds her loose fist against her chest. Damn the heat that forced you to wear a sleeve-less top today.

You raise your hand to her, a silent greeting, and you offer her a smile. She smiles back at you and you feel a small ache in your heart. Poor little thing, your heart, having to go through all this because you've grown even more stubborn than your 17 year old self over the past days.

"I wanted to see you all before you go back to Japan early tomorrow morning. I'm afraid I won't be able to accompany you to the airport tomorrow."

"Oh? Well, that's okay. I'm sure Azusa, Mugi and Sawa-chan can handle Yui and me!" You crack a grin and she giggles. You remember your senior year field trip to Kyoto and how you and Yui were such children back then, how Mio almost pulled all of her hair out from the frustration of handling both of you, how Mugi would sometimes even join in the crazy and Mio would just bow her head and sigh in defeat.

"I think Mugi and Sawako-sensei would need some handling sometimes too. Now I feel sorry for Azusa."

You both laugh at that knowing that it would inevitably come true and you imagine the look of desperation followed by defeat then exasperation on your friend's face.

"Come on, we should go upstairs and see the others." You walk to the elevator and you feel her fall into step with you. At least the years and events won't change that. Nothing would change how well you two can read each other and how both of you seem programmed to adjust to the other.

You walk to the elevator and you thank God that there was one ready and that there were no other people on board but a bellboy with luggage. You don't think you can bear to take the flight of stairs with her without making the air between the two of you awkward. You tell him to press fifth by holding up a palm with your fingers splayed wide when he looks to you, wordlessly asking you which floor you needed to go.

You count along with the lights that indicate the floors and no longer than a few seconds later you reach your floor.

You get off the elevator and send a bow to his way by instinct, forgetting that you aren't in Japan at the moment. You weren't kidding when you told your friends that you were a true and pure-blooded Japanese. Luckily, this country was also Asian and so they also share your love for rice.

You walk to your rooms and before you reach it, the door to Yui and Azusa's room bursts open and a red-faced Azusa storms out. You see her throw a pair of cat ears back into the room and you hear Yui whining _'Azunyaaan~'_ come from inside.

"Oh, Ritsu-senpai, Mio-senpai!" Azusa bows to greet the two of you out of instinct. She stayed the polite and responsible kouhai even after you've all graduated college and got your own jobs, except towards Yui, since they are in a relationship after all.

"Oh, Ricchan and Mio-chan?" Comes the still childish voice of Yui. You're not sure whether the surprised tone of the couple was due to the fact that you two were suddenly outside or due to the fact that the two of you were alone together.

See, even if you have accepted the fact that you won't get to spend your life with Mio like how you've always dreamed to, even if the reality started sinking in already, you can't deny the fact that she still has your heart and that you have no intention of taking it back only to give it to someone else. Fact is, there is no one else that can even compare to her in your eyes. You loved her growing up and you swear to love her to your death. You also can't deny the hollowness you still feel in your chest and the ache the starts there and slowly spreads out like a ripple effect through the rest of you.

Your friends, out of the years they've spent watching you, are very much aware of that.

"Where are Sawa-chan and Mugi?" You ask them and it's like your question snaps them out of their reverie and Yui comes bounding towards Mio and glomps her in true Yui fashion. Azusa comes forward to take Yui.

"_Miooo-chan~_"

"Oi, Yui! You're crushing Mio-senpai!"

"Yui, you just saw Mio yesterday." You sweatdrop at their antics; you don't really expect anything more from them but actually seeing them like this, especially with the fact that you're now all 30-something adult women, you don't know whether to feel glad that they haven't changed at all or to hit your head in frustration because they haven't changed AT ALL.

"Oh?" You hear Sawako's voice from the open door of the room beside Yui's and Azusa's. You see her head popping out from inside the room and then Mugi's head pops out a second later.

"_Mio-chan!"_ Mugi looked like she was about to run out of the room but then she realizes something. She and Sawa-chan share a quick look and then turn to you at the same time.

"Give us a minute." Sawako says and they quickly go back into to the room and close the door after them. You figure they were probably getting busy when they heard the ruckus you guys were making outside so they were still naked.

"Sawa-chan and Mugi _never_ let the minutes go to waste, huh?" You say with a sleazy tone.

"Huh?" Mio turns to you then after seeing your face, quickly realizes what you mean. Her face turns into a tomato and it is probably out of pure instinct that she raises her fist and hits you on the head. "_Baka!_"

"_OUCH!_" You hold the tender spot on your head and there were tears in the corners of your eyes. Sawako and Mugi choose that moment to come out of their room.

You sense Mio tense for a moment and nobody spoke. The pause seems to stretch for forever until Yui, Sawa-chan and Mugi laugh out loud. Azusa shifts her gaze from you to Mio and just shakes her head with a smile. They probably find it funny how no matter the distance between you and Mio, no matter how long you two haven't seen and spoken to each other, you're both still two 17 year old girls who swore they would be best friends forever.

And you know deep inside that no matter how much it hurts, you'll always still see her as your best friend and you know that with her, it's also the same.

You turn to her and give her one of your grins. You see her blush a little and she gives you a soft smile of her own.

You didn't want to get your hopes up, but you swear you saw something else in that smile; a tinge of love perhaps?

* * *

You never marry but you decide to adopt. And you decide that it was the best decision you ever made.

Aishi had long flowing black hair with bangs that are parted a little at the side, but are too short to look side-swept. She was a timid girl, always reading, always playing quietly in your backyard.

She reminded you of the person you have loved for your whole life, the person you loved with your whole being.

She was also left-handed.

You give her everything you can, everything she needed. You raise her to be a fine young woman. She was your pride and she became your life. You loved her like she was your own daughter and she too, loved you like you were the woman who gave birth to her.

At night, you would tell her stories about princesses with the same long flowing hair as her and knights who gave their heart and spent their lives loving those princesses, there were dragons and ogres and obstacles, but in the end the two always end up together, always overcome it all.

You sometimes still hoped that you could change the course of your life and control it just like how you could change things in a tale.

Years pass and things around you change. Technology is so different now compared to your time but you know that that was to be expected. Your Ai-chan is already studying in a university and while she was there, you were once again left by your lonesome in your home.

You now have a full head of white hair. You still choose to cut your hair short, above your shoulders. You still wear a headband but now it's black and it's keeping hair not only from falling to your face but now also your ears.

You kept in touch with Mio, of course. She told you that she had two children, a boy and a girl. She told you that she named the girl after you and you were so happy because of that. You stayed best friends and you know you both will until your last breaths.

* * *

You never expected Mio to show up on your doorstep on one autumn day.

"It's been a long time since I saw you, Ritsu. You look well." She has a full head of gray hair now compared to your snow-white locks. You think it's because her hair always had such a nice and deep dark color to it that it will never be as white as yours.

"It indeed has been." You smile softly. The years have refined you, have taken away your rough edges, and have softened you. You are not the same energetic and rackety child you were.

"You look _old._" You quip. You both share a chuckle, finding such an obvious statement extremely stupid and oddly funny. You guess that maybe there is still some of that child in you, just hidden underneath all the wrinkles.

You move to give Mio a hug and are surprised to have her hug you back fiercely.

"I have missed my best friend _so much._" You hear her choked voice say and you feel your sleeve get wet. You know she's crying.

"Why?" You ask with a voice filled with such tenderness that you ached. "She's always been with you. You've always had a part of her wherever you went."

You feel Mio sob harder at that and you rub her back comfortingly.

"You're still such a crybaby after all these years."

She clutches the clothes at your back and you let her. You hold her until she's calmed down enough.

"Shall we have tea?" She smiles at you and suggests after she wiped away the remnants of her tears. You smile back and give her a small nod.

It was also an autumn day, years later, you both held hands as you sat beside each other on the couch and expelled your last breath.

It wasn't the ideal way, but your dreams came true. Mio had chosen to spend the last days of her life with you. You never talked about her marriage, you never talked about your mistakes and regrets, and you never discussed your relationship. You both just know that you both still hold the same feelings towards each other. You never question why she married someone else. You never held a grudge towards her for not being strong enough because you know that back then you weren't strong enough either.

You spent your last days drinking tea together and reminiscing about your shared childhood, about your days in Sakuragaoka High, your afternoons drinking tea in the clubroom.

You thank God because the vision you had in your head, the night before you confessed to each other, although not in the most ideal and conventional way, came true.

You both feel your eyelids get heavy. But before your eyes fully close you hear Mio's faint voice.

"_Ritsu… Forgive me._" You turn your head to look at her and you see tears streaming down her face.

"_Shush, there is nothing to forgive you for._" You give her a smile. "_I don't blame you for anything. We are here now._" Your thumb rubs circles into the back of her hand soothingly because your arm feels too weak to reach up and wipe her tears away.

"_I never stopped loving you._" She confesses and you feel alive, you feel so alive at that moment that you, ironically, were ready to leave the physical world.

"_You know I never stopped loving you, either._"

You somehow know you'll be seeing her in the afterlife just like how you somehow knew that you would be spending your days together. You have this strong feeling that you two were _always_ _meant to be_ and that no matter what trials you face, what struggles you go through, and how many in the end it _will be_ the two of you.

And just then you both exhale, at the same moment and both your eyes _close_.

* * *

****THE END****

* * *

**AN**: I love Mio and Ritsu and their pairing too much to let the story end with them not together ;~; I'm so sorry I made my two babies go through so much. But , oh well! They're happily together now. :D In heaven, of whatever you believe in. Ritsu's probably still teasing Mio about barnacles and Mio still probably hits Ritsu's head and calls her _'baka'_. I never mentioned this in the story but Mio moved to the Philippines, the same country where I'm from. :) The facts I threw out last chapter like the 1 hour time difference and 1,860 miles distance are true.

So, what do you guys think of the end? Reviews and all comments are welcome! :)

PS. Sorry for the extremely long Author's notes DD: I hope you don't hate me. 'Til next story~

**~pineappurus**


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